Mus
A Basque partnership vying and bluffing game, first documented in 1745, where teammates signal hand strength to each other through truthful gestures while betting across four hand categories.
Coming soon — not yet playable
Rules
Mus is a four-player partnership game (two teams of two, partners sitting across from each other) from the Basque Country, with its earliest documented reference appearing in a 1745 trilingual dictionary by Manuel Larramendi.
Each player is dealt four cards. Before the main betting, players may discard and redraw cards in a "mus" phase (similar to a draw), agreed upon by both players on a team. Betting then proceeds across four distinct hand categories in sequence — Grande (highest cards), Chica (lowest cards), Pares (pairs), and Juego/Punto (a point-total combination) — with a separate round of betting and comparison for each category.
The distinctive mechanic: partners are permitted (and expected) to signal their hand strength to each other using an agreed set of facial expressions and gestures — the only "cheating" prohibited is using a false signal; genuinely communicating your hand to your partner is the entire point of the game.
Strategy notes: Because Mus is played entirely without money (traditionally for small stones or beans used as counters) and rewards honest partner communication over deception between teammates, it inverts poker's usual bluffing dynamic — you bluff your opponents, but you're expected to be completely truthful with your partner.
Common house rules
Signals must be pre-agreed and honest
The core rule of Mus: partners may use gestures to communicate hand strength, but inventing a signal on the spot to mislead your own partner is considered cheating — only signals agreed upon in advance, used truthfully, are legitimate.
Four categories, four separate bets
Standard rule: Grande, Chica, Pares, and Juego are each bet on and resolved separately within the same hand, meaning a team can win some categories and lose others in a single deal.
Traditionally played for counters, not money
Mus is historically played for stones, beans, or matchsticks tracking game points rather than real stakes — most revivals keep this spirit rather than adding cash betting.
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